Crocodile Farm 2 – So... So Unlucky!!!
Six days had passed since Crocodile Farm 2 began. Rusty had already flattened the entire mountain and finished the terrain work, moving on to full-scale construction. Outside the fence marking his worksite, Kuronyang’s farm, fishing spot, and their so-called Love House had already taken shape. They had helped with the flattening, but before Rusty started building, he’d insisted they focus on their own interior first and built it for them.
Thanks to that, her viewers gradually migrated to Kuronyang’s stream as she began stacking interior blocks, offering advice and enjoying the game together. Fishing in her spare time after farming and chatting with viewers was fun, and so was bickering playfully with Rusty whenever he dropped by to tease her.
“Uuuu~ng. Still, I’ve raised my interior a lot. Right?”
But their sweet newlywed-like life was quickly thrown into crisis.
“……”
“…..”
“Got a problem?”
It was because of Mabel, who had suddenly appeared and applied to move into their Love House (yes, that was its actual name, complete with a sign). Rusty still felt awkward around her—he’d gotten scolded by Kuronyang because of the misunderstanding she caused. (Kuronyang had explained who she was afterward.) More than that, he simply didn’t like someone intruding on their cozy time together. Still, he couldn’t openly object, so he could only stare at Kuronyang with pleading eyes.
“…Then I guess it’s fine?”
“!!!!”
“Eung~ That’s my baby kitty~”
Kuronyang generously allowed the move-in, and Mabel clung to her. Rusty trembled with betrayal.
‘A disruptor has entered our Love House…..’
After Mabel—Kuronyang’s real-life best friend and benefactor—joined, a subtle tension began to hang over their Love House.
“Oppa, can you bring me some Xxx?”
“Yeah, I’ll go right—”
“Kuronyang, here.”
Whenever Kuronyang asked Rusty for something, Mabel would appear out of nowhere and hand it over. Or:
“Kuronyang, try this on.”
“Yeah~. How do I look?”
“Wow~ It really suits—”
“Oh my~ Our Kuronyang is sooo pretty~”
When Rusty tried to gift Kuronyang a female cosmetic item he’d pulled with Sanyangdan’s donations (first-come, first-served, one person only—and he got it in one try) and shower her with praise, Mabel would suddenly appear, make a fuss, and steal his line to compliment Kuronyang instead.
“…..”
“……”
“Hehe~♪ Hehe~♪ Hehe~♪”
After this kept happening, Rusty and Kuronyang naturally fell into uncomfortable silence while Mabel remained blissfully unaware.
The Jipsadan cheered while watching them.
The U-gyeol-dan (the shippers) voiced their complaints as their beloved drama was suddenly cut off. The awkward cohabitation continued, and dissatisfaction slowly built up in Rusty, the U-gyeol-dan, and surprisingly, even Kuronyang.
******
Four days passed like that.
“Aaaah~! I can’t take it anymore~”
Rusty’s patience had reached its limit.
Seething with anger, Rusty waited for an opening. When Kuronyang left early for an errand, he immediately called Mabel over.
“Let’s talk for a bit.”
Mabel looked at him as if she’d been expecting this.
“Then shall we turn off the stream for a moment? I also have something I want to say.”
“….Yeah. Let’s do that.”
Rusty grew serious at Mabel’s suggestion to talk with the stream off. Ignoring the Sanyangdan’s outrage about “dropping a deuce the moment the stream goes off,” he and Mabel sat facing each other with the broadcast ended.
“…..”
“…..”
Mabel seemed to be choosing her words while Rusty waited quietly.
. . .
After a short while, Mabel finally seemed to have organized her thoughts.
“I don’t know if you know this, but Kuronyang and I have been friends since we were kids.”
“….”
Rusty listened quietly, and Mabel looked pleased. In truth, she was still testing him. She had been deliberately getting in their way to gauge his patience. The long silence after calling him over was the same test. If he had broken the silence first, he would have failed. Suggesting they turn off the stream was a signal for a serious talk; being unable to wait even that short time and rushing her would have shown a lack of both tact and patience.
So far, Rusty had passed. He had immediately picked up on the hidden meaning in her words, and his reaction to her interference had come at just the right moment. Reacting any sooner would have meant he lacked awareness (especially after being told she and Kuronyang were best friends), while reacting later would have made him seem frustratingly slow.
“So I think I have some right to interfere in who Kuronyang gets close to.”
“…”
Even though her words could be seen as overstepping, Rusty nodded calmly, earning him extra points from Mabel. (It showed he respected their friendship.)
“So….. I want to ask you directly. Are you and our Kuronyang doing a broadcast marriage (pretending to be close for the stream), or a real marriage (actually dating with serious intentions)?”
Rusty opened his mouth with a serious look in his eyes.
“I……”
Gulp.
“I like Soyu.”
Mabel nodded as if she had already suspected as much. The fact that he answered without much hesitation made it clear he had thought about it a lot.
‘Another +10 points.’
So far, Rusty had given her no reason to deduct points. But the real test was just beginning, so she stayed alert.
“I don’t know if you know, but Soyu also—”
“It’s Jiwon. Kim Jiwon.”
“…I’m Arin. Anyway, Soyu likes Jiwon too.”
“Eut.”
For a moment, Rusty couldn’t hide his joy. He had guessed Soyu’s feelings, but hearing it confirmed by someone close to her was a different kind of happiness. Mabel poured cold water on his mood.
“But Soyu is hesitating right now.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re both streamers.”
“Ah…”
“Hehe. You’re quick on the uptake, so talking to you is easy. That’s right. Since you’re both streamers, she’s confused about whether your closeness is just for the broadcast or something more.”
“I’ve been steadily approaching her without going overboard…..”
“Haha. Yeah. I’ve seen that. But Soyu isn’t as quick on the uptake as you.”
“Haa… This is going to be a rough road ahead…”
“I absolutely can’t support you.”
Mabel drew a firm line. Rusty smirked.
“That’s fine. We don’t need an outsider’s help with our relationship anyway.”
That single line landed cleanly on Mabel. It was his way of telling her not to meddle too much. Still, just confirming Soyu’s feelings had been a huge harvest for the day.
‘Yeah. That’s enough to make me forget about the hour she spent getting in our way, right?’
With information like this, he could probably forgive everything… but she’s still so petty…..
******
They had a surprisingly productive conversation. In front of Mabel, who kept trying to probe his character, Rusty showed his sincerity completely, and Mabel gradually found herself sinking under his relentless assault. And that secretly annoyed her.
‘I’ll admit it….. I have no choice but to admit it….. but still.’
Wanting to land at least one hit on Rusty somehow, Mabel unknowingly stepped on a landmine.
“By the way, how old are you, Rusty?”
Mabel began building up her attack.
“I’m twenty-six this year.”
“Hmm…. Our Soyu is twenty-one…. That’s…. quite a gap?”
“They say even a four-year difference doesn’t matter for compatibility, so five years is just right.”
“(Urgh..). Then, if you don’t mind me asking, what did you do before streaming?”
“Hmm… It’s kind of rude to dig into personal details, but… I was in school before streaming?”
“(Yes! Got him~) Then you’re on a leave of absence from school?”
“(Hehe… First bombardment incoming.) No, I already graduated and even got my doctorate.”
“!!! Th-that’s a lie!”
“It’s not a lie. If you go to the website of that famous American engineering school, you’ll see my photo right there.”
“Re….really?”
“Yes. If you’re still doubtful, I’ll send you my photo so you can check yourself.”
As he spoke, Rusty took a photo that would show up on the broadcast screen and sent it. When Mabel searched the university he mentioned for the name “Jiwon Kim,” his profile appeared clearly.
Dr. Jiwon Kim.
Even his research history was impressive. Mabel calmed herself and continued the attack.
“Hmph… You must have saved up a lot already? You don’t even take donations.”
Mabel fired off the “Are you rich?” attack. Rusty smiled.
“Yeah. I have plenty. I still get my salary deposited every month. I’m only streaming because this year is my sabbatical.”
He even revealed the exact amount, showing just how substantial his salary was. Mabel went into a groggy state from the powerful one-two punch. There was nothing left to nitpick. An annual salary close to 100 million won, a professorship at a world-renowned university, and being young enough to be considered a genius on top of that.
‘And his face is ridiculously handsome…..’
She had already confirmed his looks from the photo he sent. There was nothing left to criticize. Even knowing he was a lifelong single, there was no downside from a woman’s perspective.
‘If I had to nitpick, my ideal type is someone who takes the lead… but that’s not Soyu.’
At this point, opposing him any further was meaningless. She might as well bow down and beg him to take good care of their girl.
‘But still….. he’s so annoying.’
His overwhelming perfection only made her feel more resentful. Rusty delivered the final punch.
“Ah. Come to think of it, before I came over from America, I also won first place in the Powerball lottery? I think I got around 2 trillion won..?”
. . .
“So….. so unlucky!!!!”